The chief executive of engineering giant Siemens has declared that there is a mismatch between the skills that people in the US have and vacancies.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Eric Spiegel stated that the country's labor market has talent shortages because of a gap between the experience of those out of work and the demands of employers that is leading businesses to recruit from rivals rather than from the pool of individuals out of work.

He suggested this problem may be due to weaknesses within US training and education systems, noting that the German firm has to provide programs for recruits in order to meet its skills requirements.

In response to the current talent gap, the Obama administration recently unveiled plans to expand its Skills for America's Future initiative, run in conjunction with the Manufacturing Institute, to increase workforce development and meet employers' needs.

The US had an unemployment rate of 9.1 per cent in May 2011, with 54,000 new non-farm payroll positions created during the month from April.

Posted by Fiona Summers